Misery Loves Company
by TheGrayWitch
Summary: Alyss is a new waitress at the Four Roses. All she wants is to have a good life. Sadly, she's caught the eye of a certain notorious ganglord, Billy Darley who she wants nothing to do with! She refuses him but can it last? Billy/OC. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: First Night

**Chapter One**

**~Alyss~**

First day wasn't so bad. You'd think it would be pain trying to get the hang of working at a bar. Oddly enough it wasn't that bad. No one tried to hassle me or tried to feel me up or anything of the sort. Things were ok.

First night was, however, a bitch. True, there weren't as many people at night as there were during the day. Unfortunately, that might have to do with the fact a certain gang lord and his boys came in and took over the back table.

"Who are they?" I asked Benny behind the bar. It made me curious especially since people started leaving really quickly, as if they were scared.

"That's Billy Darley. You don't want to mess with him," Benny replied, looking nervously between me and the baldy at the head of the table, who I assumed was "Big Bad" Billy.

"And why is that?" I asked, just so I'm aware of how much I should avoid him. I already didn't like him. Sure, he was easy on the eyes even with the lack of hair, but as they say "Beauty is only skin deep." The guy had an arrogant presence about which pissed me off.

"He's a notorious gang lord, drug dealer, and world champ sex god,"

I busted up laughing at the last part. "World champ sex god? And you know this how?"

Benny shrugged a little. "That's what all the girls say,"

I snorted. "Probably blonde bimbos who can't spend a night out of a guy's bed,"

"Now, Alyss, if I were you, I'd keep that sassy mouth to yourself,"

I smiled and said in an innocent voice "Oh, of course, Benny. I'll play nice. Well, until he starts playing dirty,"

I heard a deep voice growl "Hey! Beers!" I looked to see that Billy had said it, and was looking at me. I glared at him and turned to Benny. "Which won't be for long,"

"Just promise me you won't do anything stupid," He said as he got the beers.

"I'll attempt," I said as I snagged the tray and started placing the mugs of amber liquid, wrinkling my nose at the smell. Barely 21 and I'm not attempting to drink myself out of house and home. Not that I had a home to drink myself out of.

After all the beers were ready to be consumed, I hoisted the tray onto my shoulder and carefully balanced it to the table. Why they had to get so many beers and sit all the way in the back, I have no clue. I saw Billy's eyes rake over me as I walked towards them and I almost growled. This was going to be a long night.

**=Billy=**

As Billy Darley walked into the Four Roses with the boys, he noticed something new. There was a new waitress working and as far as Billy was concerned, Benny had made a good choice. The girl had long, dark brunette hair the fell past her ass, which didn't seem too large or too small at his vantage point. She had olive toned skin that he just wanted to lave his tongue over. Her waist curved and thin but not so skinny she'd break if you just lightly tap her. And her clothes just added to the fact. She wore dark denim jeans that almost completely covered her classic black converse. Her shirt was plain black with a small V-neck that showed just a little 34C cleavage. On her arms were black gauntlets with buckles all over them.

Billy liked what he saw and continued to stare even after he called for their drinks, listening to her and Benny's conversation.

"Just promise me you won't do anything stupid," He told her.

Billy watched as her eyes flicked to him for a moment before answering Benny. "I'll attempt,"

Billy smiled to himself. Attempt? What did this sassy girl have in mind when she says attempt? He'd heard they're conversation, or at least enough to tell she didn't really like him. But Billy would change that. Just work up those charms and she'll be begging for him.

He watched as she took the tray and brought it over. She had a strange sway to her hips as she walked that seemed so natural. Not that teasing, exaggerated sway girls liked to do when they wanted his attention. The girl came up to them and placed the drinks in front of everyone, avoiding looking anyone in the eye, particularly Billy's.

"Hey, there," He said, trying to get the girl's attention.

She turned her head slightly in his direction to mutter "Hello" and then went back to serving.

"New around here?" He asked.

"A smidge," she said curtly as she handed Joe his drink.

"What's your name?"

"Alyss," She placed Billy's drink in front of him and looked at everyone with her chocolate, almond shaped eyes.

Bedroom eyes, Billy thought.

"Will that be all?" She asked cordially.

"For now," Billy answered, looking up at her with his stormy blue ones.

She looked down him and gave a small snort, quirking up those pouty, full lips into a little smirk. As she turned away, tucking the tray under her arm, Billy reached to give her ass a little squeeze. But before he could even touch that nice round rump, her hand came back and slapped his away, her unevenly long fingernails slightly grazing his hand. He looked up to see her glaring over her shoulder for a moment before quickly walking away, clearly pissed. This was going to be interesting.

**~Alyss~**

As I came back to the bar, I was snarling. I practically slammed the tray down and started furiously cleaning the bar. "Playing nice is over," I said.

"What happened?" Benny asked, making another beer for someone who didn't high-tail it when the gang lord came in.

"Like you didn't see," I hissed.

"Look, that's just Billy being Billy. He could've done a lot worse,"

"It was still rude and uncalled for," I sighed as the song playing from the jukebox stopped. "Mind if I pick the next song? It'll clear my head,"

"Go ahead,"

I went to the jukebox and shuffled through the songs until I found the perfect one. "Misery Loves Company" by Emilie Autumn. I grinned and stole a glance at Billy, who was still staring at me as I put the quarter and turned it to the song. A fun techno tuned played with a hint of violin. I sang along with the song and slightly danced to it as I walked. I took bellydancing a few years back, which is so fun although a tad provocative to most people. I never did the sexy dances to I was never bothered.

"_It's not the time  
__It's not the place  
__I'm just another pretty face  
So don't come any closer  
You're not the first  
You're not the last  
How many more?  
Don't even ask  
You're one more dead composer_

_Do I need you?_ (_Yes and no)_  
_Do I want you?_ (_Maybe so)_  
_You're getting warm,_ y_ou're getting warm_  
_You're getting warmer oh_  
_Did you plan this (All along)_  
_Did you care if (It was wrong)_ _  
Who's getting warmer now_ t_hat I'm gone_

_Misery loves company_ a_nd company loves more_  
_More loves everybody else_ _b__ut hell is others  
__Misery loves company_ a_nd company loves more_ _  
More loves everybody else_ _b__ut hell is others_

_I'm not for you_  
_You're not for me_  
_I'll kill you first_ _  
You wait and see_  
_You devil undercover_  
_You're not a prince_ _  
You're not a friend_  
_You're just a child_  
_And in the end_  
_You're one more selfish lover_

_Do I need you?_ _Yes and no_  
_Do I want you?_ _Maybe so_  
_You're getting warm_ _You're getting warm_  
_You're getting warmer oh_  
_Did you plan this all along_ _  
Did you care if it was wrong_ _  
Who's getting warmer now_ _That I'm gone_

_Misery loves company_ _And company loves more_  
_More loves everybody else_ _But hell is others  
__Misery loves company_ a_nd company loves more_  
_More loves everybody else_ _b__ut hell is others_

_You're so easy to read_ _  
But the book is boring me_ _  
You're so easy to read_ _  
But the book is boring me_  
_You're so easy to read_  
_But the book is boring_ _  
Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring  
__Boring__ me_

_Pray for me,_ _i__f you want to_  
_Pray for me,_ _if you care_ _  
Pray for me,_ _if you want to_ _  
Pray for me,_ _if you dare_ _  
Pray for me,_ _if you want to_  
_Pray for me,_ i_f you care_ _  
Pray for me,_ _i__f you want to_  
_Pray for me, you fucker_ _  
If you fucking dare_

_Misery loves company_ a_nd company loves more_ _  
More loves everybody else_ _b__ut hell is others  
__Misery loves company_ a_nd company loves more_ _  
More loves everybody else_ _b__ut hell is others_

_Misery loves company_ a_nd company loves more_ _  
More loves everybody else_ _b__ut hell is others  
__Misery love company_ a_nd company loves more_ _  
More loves everybody else_ _But hell is others,"_

I grinned as I sang. I guess everyone could hear me because after the song finished and I stopped singing, everyone started clapping for me. I smiled and bowed gracefully. As I came back up, I noticed Billy watching me like a hawk. I snickered as I turned and went back to work. I was not going to be his so easily, and he knew it. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

* * *

The night continued until it was time to close up. Benny said he'd close it for me after the incident with Billy. I finished cleaning the bar, snagged my favorite black button up peacoat. I slipped it one, bade Benny goodbye and headed out.

**=Billy=**

Through the night, Billy would steal glances at the girl. He was still pissed about her slapping his hand away. No girl had ever done that. Her dancing to the song certain didn't help one fucking bit. When she told Benny goodbye and headed out the door, Billy got up, muttering that he needed a smoke and followed her out. She deserved payback for wounding his pride. He followed her, catching up quickly and shoving her into the wall. She looked shocked then pissed.

"That was rude of you," He told her, getting real close so his breath could tickle her face. Her breath quickened a little and he smiled. Not so sassy now?

But the girl smirked at him and said "Don't get handsy with me and I won't be rude,"

He growled and pressed closer to her. "Don't fucking tell me what to do," He snarled, leaning close to kiss her. "I make the rules," He closed his eyes as he leaned more to kiss her…

…and ended up doubled-over in pain. The girl just kneed him in the nuts! Her foot swept out and kicked his feet out from under him. He landed on his stomach and before he could get up, a converse clad foot stepped on him just below the base of his neck. The girl put all her weight on him to hold him there.

"Lemme tell you something, Billy boy," she hissed. "I don't take orders from asshats like you. I play by my game and in my game, you can't have me. I'm not some idiot girl who you can make into a slave. All I want is to be left alone," She dragged out the last word to give it more emphasis before removing her foot and walking away.

Billy stiffly got up and snarled to himself. This ain't over.

**~Alyss~**

I came up to an old abandoned theater and called "I'm home!"

A blonde whirlwind suddenly crashed into me. "Ali! You made it!"

I laughed. "Hey ya, Maddy," I smiled as I pulled back to get a good look at her. Maddy had lovely, light blonde hair (the good, sunlight kind) that fell past her shoulders and baby blue eyes. She sported fair skin and a thin waist (good thin, not stick thin).

"How was work?" A low voice called. I watched Maddy's twin brother, Seth walk down the main to see me and give me a hug.

"Day, good. Night, HELL!" I answered, shedding off my jacket and heading over to my corner.

"Well, you are working in a bar. Night times bound to be hectic," Seth said.

"It wasn't hectic. Guy tried to grab my butt,"

"Aww, Ali, I'm sorry. Didja catch his name?" Maddy asked.

"Whyyyyyyy?" I asked, dragging the word out.

"So I can go and kick his ass," she said with determination. Most people would laugh if they heard her say that and saw the fierce look in her eye, what with her petite form and innocent looks. Unfortunately, I've seen the girl in action and she could whup anybody!

"I doubt you'll wanna, Mads," I told her, sitting in seat near my corner in the back, which had my lovely thick, queen-sized wolf blanket folded width-wise and laid out like a sleeping bag, two big pillows stacked on top of each other, and a thin blanket with teddy bears on it. Behind the pillows to support them, were a couple stacks of books that went up to my knees. Teddy bears, stuffed bunnies and a small assortment of other stuffed animals surrounded the top half of my "bed." Yes, I adore plushies. I may be able to land a guy on his rump but I do have a soft side.

"And why is that?"Seth asked, sitting in the row in front of me. He sat on his knees so he could look back at me comfortably. Maddy sat next to me.

"'Cause his names Billy Darley," I answered simply, starting to remove my gauntlets slowly.

"WHAT?" Maddy screeched.

I cringed when she did that, since she was right next to me. But after the ringing quickly left my ears, I continued to pull off my gauntlets, revealing thin little scars all that decorated my forearms. They traveled just below my elbow where the material of the gauntlet stopped.

Seth cringed at the sight of my arms but that didn't stopped him from asking "By try to grab you, you mean like pretend to, just to tease you, right?"

"No, he tried, only to get his hands smacked," I answered flatly, taking off the other glove to show the same scars on the other arm.

Maddy's eyes bulged out of her sockets. "You did what?"

"What? You think I'm just gonna let some random guy squeeze my tail? Hell no!"

"Alyss," Maddy said, somewhat calmly. "This isn't just any guy. This is Billy Darley, gang lord, drug dealer, and well-known sex god! If you piss him off, you'd better kiss the best sex you'll ever have goodbye,"

"Oh, god!" I shouted, getting out of my seat. "That's it! I'm going to bed!" I announced and rummaged through a duffle bag at the end of the bed. I pulled out a pair of slightly fuzzy, white pajama pants with Mickey Mouse heads all over it and a long Mad Hatter T-shirt. I heard Seth shuffle so that his back was turned to me so I could change, which I did.

"Listen Alyss, you'd better be careful," Maddy warned. "If Billy wants his way with you, he'll get it. Whether you want to or not,"

"Maddy," I sighed as I pulled off my shirt and put on the other, taking my black bra off underneath. "I've had guys try to do what they've wanted to me before. Ya know what happened? I kicked their butt and demanded they leave me alone. This Billy guy ain't gonna be different,"

"Alyss, this ain't no little highschool boy that's a little horny. This guy runs a gang. He practically owns the bar you work at! You'd better play nice or you'll end up hip deep in trouble,"

"She right, Alyss," Her twin agreed, still facing away from me. "You need to be careful. You could get hurt,"

I sighed and just traded my jeans for the comfy pants. I know Maddy and Seth mean well. Hell, they were the ones that brought me here when I came off a bus with nothing but the clothes on my back and a duffle bag full of stuff. They even got me a job at the Four Roses after my first week. They knew Boston better than I did, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Guys, I know you mean well and I love ya for it. But I didn't run here just to get bossed around by some asshat that thinks he's all that. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, burned it. I just want to start over. Have a real life, not a phantom one and this Billy ain't gonna change that,"

Both of them looked at me with sad eyes. I sighed again. "I'd better get to bed. Night, everyone," I said before going to my corner and snuggling under the blankets.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello! Hope you all enjoyed this. Please reveiw this and tell me what you think. Reveiws make me more motivated to write, which means chapters could be posted a lot faster! I want to thank LibbyLoo92 for all her help, support and for inspiring me to write this :) Thanks a bunch Libby! Again, please reveiw so I can know if you like this story or if somethin needs to change! TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!

~Alyss~

UPDATE: Hello everyone :) Finished editing this sucker in no time ^^ It's pretty much the same except for some fine tuning and that I combined the first two original chapters together. I've been liking to write longer chapters and looking back I felt silly about ending it where I did. So! I'll be continuing my rampage of editing and then get and update up for you guys! Hope you like it!


	2. Chapter 2: Troublemaker

**Chapter Three**

**~Alyss~**

I woke up and yawned, stretching my arms over my head. I was careful not to knock over anything as I sat up. I ran a hand through my hair, scolding myself for not putting it in a ponytail last night. It was so tangled up it resembled a rat's nest. I rummaged through my bag, snagged my brush and started attacking the knots. I heard a yawn from across the room and saw Maddy get up from her little nest of blankets and pillows. Her hair just slightly stood up but it was tame enough to let her run her fingers through it and go. She padded over to me in her (sort of) cute pink pajama pants and matching tank top and gave me an air hug. It was established when we first met that unless she got a new set of pajamas that weren't pink (which is doubtful to happen), Maddy wasn't allowed to give me a normal hug first thing in the morning. I hated pink so much I refused to touch it!

After "taming the rat's nest," I snagged an outfit from my bag and changed into it. I decided to go with a black sleeveless, button-up shirt with a red-and-black plaid skirt that had a slit in the front off the side that showed solid black ruffles underneath. On my arms, I put on detached sleeve that stayed on quite nicely. They were plain black with a small sheen of red that went from just below my elbow to just below the bottom of my thumb, hiding my scars perfectly. I put on a pair of red tights and fishnet stocking to go with some Victorian style boots with laces for show and zipped up. After the main part of the ensemble was taken care of, I snagged three rose earrings, a black one for the bottom left and two deep red for the bottom right and top left. After those were it, I grabbed my favorite collar: a black one with chains and a dark grey, almost black Gothic cross with a deep red rose in the intersection for the pendant.

"How do I look?" I asked Maddy, standing up and twirling so she could see the full view.

She smiled at me as she got dressed. "Good, but your hair needs something," She quickly got her clothes on and quickly went through my bag to pull out a black headband with a red bow on the side that had a little black crystallized rose sewn into the middle. "I know it's your favorite," she grinned as she put it on me in such a way that the front part of my hair stayed a little loose as if they were just tucked behind my ears.

I grinned back at her. "Yeah, Mom made it…" I mumbled to myself. I heard thuds behind me and saw Seth come down from his spot in the balcony area in his pajama pants.

"Well," he said. "And we're all dressed up because?"

I shrugged. "'Cause I feel like it. Ya know, I feel like going out into town today, just hang out with two of my best buds. Whaddaya say?"

"Count me in!" Maddy piped.

"Count me out," Seth yawned. "I'm too tired to follow you two around. Just don't use up too much of our money if you decide to shop,"

"Don't worry, worst we'll do is get a light lunch, right Maddy?"

"Right!"

So with that said, I snagged an old Jack Skellington messenger bag that I've had for forever, put a book that I was reading in it and headed for the door, with Maddy running to keep up after she nabbed her little pink tote. I smiled as we looped arms (thankfully she decided to wear a purple tank!) and headed out to seize the day!

**=Billy=**

Billy was out on the corner with Bodie and Joe for company. He had to stand there so some drug addict who wanted to get high could come and pay for some goods. He hated it but he didn't have much of a choice. He watched impatiently as people past by. Then his eyes found the one thing that could both brighten his day and make it worse. The new girl, Alyss, was walking across the street with her arm linked with a little blonde's. His eyes raked over her ensemble, happy that even though she wore so much, it was form fitting enough to help him imagine her without any of it. The girl didn't seem to notice him, which suited him just fine. After the little incident outside of the bar last night, he wasn't too keen to piss her off anytime soon. No, he'd thought about laying low for a bit, letting her think she'd scared him away before proving her dead wrong. However, the way she was dressed today was teasing him, as if she was saying "Look at what you can't have."

The thought made his nostrils flare and his temper rise. It was now more than just him lusting for her body. It was about who made the rules and it sure as hell wasn't this scrawny little bitch. He snarled to himself as he started walking down the street towards the girls, who had stopped in at a store front to look inside. The girl looked up at one point and saw his reflection coming towards them and tugged on her friends arm to go inside. The blonde looked up confused, saw Billy's reflection and nodded quickly before following the girl into the store.

Billy smirked. She was afraid of him. No matter how much of a brave face she put on, she was still afraid of him. He followed them in, quickly finding it out to be a book store, and searched for them. He saw the blonde standing somewhat behind a stack, turned to the side so she could lean against the edge of the shelf. The girl was nowhere in sight, so he assumed she was behind the stack with the blonde. He sauntered over and could pick up part of their conversation.

"I hope you're happy, Alyss," the blonde hissed. "Now he's following us and I doubt our little detours gonna stop him," She waited for a bit for an answer. "Alyss, are you even listening to me?"

"Shhhh!" said the girl. "I'm trying to decide which book to get: Ramses the Damned or Interview with the Vampire,"

"They're used, Alyss, so they probably got problems, like stains or something,"

Billy stood by the blonde so he could see the girl shake her head. She obviously didn't notice him. In her hands were two book, both with black covers but one had a red candle on it while other had designs that would fit in Egypt.

"You're wrong, Maddy," said the girl, almost excitedly. "These are in terrific condition. And besides, they wouldn't be selling them if they had 'problems' like that,"

Maddy sighed. "Whatever, just pick one. What's with you and books? You're like a druggie with those things. I don't see the big deal,"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Do I have to remind you _again_? Books are…" She looked up and saw Billy there.

He smirked and waved slightly at her.

"Crap," She groaned.

"'Crap?'" Maddy said, not getting it. "You've never called them that. You usuallyy…" She noticed the girl looking behind her, followed her gaze to see Billy and stiffened.

"Hello, ladies," he said smoothly.

"Ah, hellfish, what are you stalking me now?" the girl asked, annoyed. Her friend stare at her with wide eyes, like she sprouted wings or something.

"No," He replied curtly. "Just wanted to apologize for last night and if there's anything I can do to make it up to ya…"

"Thanks, but no thanks," She told him, tucking the books under her arms and grabbing her friend's hand and dragging her away. "C'mon, Mad. Better get outta here before I try to by the whole store,"

"Oh, c'mon, girly," He said, not wanting to lose her just yet. She stiffened as he said "girly," which made him wonder. "At least lemme buy you lunch,"

"No thanks, not hungry," she answered curtly as she got to the register and placed her books on the counter.

The cashier rang them up as ten bucks all together. As the girl dug through her bag for her wallet, Billy whipped out a ten and place it on the counter. The cashier accepted it and said "Have a good day," before the girl even brought her head back up. Maddy was staring at Billy with her mouth wide open.

"What the?" The girl asked, staring at Billy. "What was that for?"

He smirked. "To show ya I am very generous," He leaned in close to whisper in her ear "And I haven't forgotten which you did to me last night. If I were you, I'd start apologizing right now before I decide to get mean,"

The girl sneer and whispered back "Well, you're not me. And guess what? If you try to do anything to me or my friends, I'll kick your sorry ass right then and there. And you know I can do it," She leaned away and started walking back out, with Maddy following close behind.

**~Alyss~**

"What did you say to him?" Maddy asked, nervously. "He looked pissed,"

I smirked and said "I told him to have a nice day,"

* * *

Several days past after the incident at the book store and things were quiet. Billy seemed to back off but I knew better than to let my guard down. A couple insults - er - comments have been thrown but nothing terribly serious. The man had finally figured out I'm not going down without a fight and a damn good one at that.

It was a week after I'd started working at the bar and it was my busiest day and night. For a normal bar with more than one waitress at one time, it wouldn't have been so bad. But unfortunately, I was the only one there that night and people kept ordering and ordering. Billy's group was the worst. Something must have happened for them to want to get so drunk or they just wanted to hassle me after all the crap I've put Billy through.

Speaking of the oh-so-scary gang lord, he was oddly quiet this night. Didn't say one word to me, which I happily reciprocated. Still, it unnerved me a smidge. Normally, he'd saying "Hello" and answer my question of "Do you guys need anything else?" Now, it was nothing. Hmmm, must be in a bad mood or something. He looked mad about something. Oh well, whatever was his loss was apparently my gain.

Him and his gang left before the usual time, which was normal sometime after closing when Benny's suppose to lock up. My boss, even though he's trained me to do so, has never let me lock up on my own yet, which I preferred. I didn't want to be caught alone with Billy and the boys.

The night something chilled me, like I'd just walked over my grave. I rubbed the spot under my shirt where the pentagram pendant on my necklace hid, right over my heart. As I rubbed the pendant through the shirt, I prayed to the Goddess for strength and protection for me, Seth, and Maddy. I was Pagan by choice, which meant I believed in a God and a Goddess who were a part of nature. I'd tried going to church but I felt like a poser the whole time. I had no faith in Christianity but I did have it in Paganism. Maddy and Seth were Christians and they knew about my little "quirk" and supported me. "Whatever floats your boat," They told me when I confessed why I wore pentagrams and pentacles.

I cleaned up the place, grabbed my jacket from behind the bar and locked up for the night. I was locking the door the bar when whatever my senses wre warning me about decided to rear its ugly head.

"Hey, girly," A husky voice sneered behind me.

I stiffened. I knew that voice. I was reminded of it when Billy called me "girly" at the bookstore. Only one person had ever called me that and I'd hoped to never hear it again.

I slowly turned to see a man a year or so older than me with jet black hair and bright green eyes. His skin was so pale you'd swear he was an albino and his body was wiry. He always reminded people of a thin blade, ready to strike. And I only knew how true that was.

"Muh-muh-Micheal?" I stammered. "Whuh-whuh-what are you doing here?" My voice gave a small squeak and I was shaking. This guy scared me a hell of a lot more than Billy did.

"Aww, what's the matter, girly?" He said smoothly, stepping a little closer to me.

I stepped back. I was so scared my mind was blank.

He just smiled at her as he stepped closer. "You remember those nights when it'd get so cold? You used to always curl up to me. Used to say I must have been a space heater in another life," He joked.

"Get away from me," I growled, trying to sound brave but my voice faltered and he could hear it. He smirked and leaned real close to me.

"We were so happy. Why did you run?"

"You know why!" I hissed. "How could you? She was my best friend," The images came into my mind. Dani sobbing into my shoulder, Micheal knocked out on the ally floor with the lead piped I used to hit him lying there. They made my stomach churned and I thought I might get sick.

His smirked stayed. "Maybe you shouldn't have stayed home that night. Or better yet, just done what I wanted,"

**=Billy=**

Billy had gone home while the boy's went over to the "office". Business had been slow and Bone's had given him the third degree because of it. What the fuck did the guy expect him to do? Pull money out of his ass? Probably, but not like that was happening. A drink at Four Roses didn't help any.

The thought of the bar reminded him of the girl. She seemed jittery tonight, like she was waiting for a bomb to go off. Sometimes he'd see her rub a small part of her chest and muttered under her breath. Did she wear a cross? Was she religious enough that she still prayed? He sighed, got off the couch and headed down to his Mustang. He decided a drive would do him good. He drove around for a bit and found himself across from the bar. There he saw what made the girl so nervous.

A guy with black hair was standing real close to her like he was about to kiss her. But it wasn't the guy that disturbed him. It was the expression on the girl's face that shocked him. Her eyes wide and her mouth quivered slightly as if she was holding in a scream. All the color was drained from her face and she stood stock still. This wasn't the girl Billy had been used to. This girl was a kitten compare to the tigress she normally was.

Billy got out of the car and strode over to the two. He heard the guy mutter "You should have done what I wanted" and his jaw clenched. He may have just known her for only a week, but he knew that girl took orders from nobody.

"Is there a problem, sweetheart?" Billy said, startling the both of them.

The guy looked back at him with a "Who the hell are you?" kind of look while the girl seemed confused. But she caught on quick and said "It's nothing, babe," She sidestepped around him so she wasn't trapped by the guy anymore and came over to Billy's side, wrapping her little arm around his waist. "Just a friend of mine who's leaving," She stared right at the guy to put more emphasis on her words.

Billy put his arm around her little shoulders to add more meaning. Like this, he realized just how small she really was. The top of her head came up to his chin and she felt so frail wrapped in his arm. He was starting to feel protective of her and not in a "This is my property" kind of way.

The guy just smirked and said "Be seeing you, girly," and walked away.

She waited until the guy around the corner and outta sight before ducking away from Billy. "What the hell was that?" she asked him, still confused.

Billy shrugged. "I went for a drive, saw you were in trouble, thought I could help,"

"Well….." She bit her lip like she hadn't figured out what she wanted to say. Some witty insult, no doubt. "Thank you,"

Billy did a double take. Did she just say thank you?

"But if you're looking at it as chance to sleep with me, it ain't happening,"

_That's more like it._ He chuckled to himself. "Can't blame a guy for trying,"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Well, I'd love to stay and chitchat, but I gotta get home. It's getting late,"

"Lemme give you a ride then," He said as she started to leave.

She looked back at him and said "No thanks, I can handle myself,"

"Oh, yeah, you sure handled it with that guy,"

Her face grew red as she sputtered "That-that was different! He startled me! Caught me off guard, that's all! Won't happen again,"

"Still, you should let me take you. It'll be faster,"

She turned around to face him, stood rigid and said firmly "No," She turned on her heels and started to walk away.

Billy sighed, caught up to her and picked her up bridal-style in his arms before heading back to his car.

"Hey! What the hell! Put me down!" She shouted, kicking and flailing her arms. Billy didn't react except hold her tighter and carried her to the car. It was a little hard to get the door open but he did and plopped her ass into the seat. He then closed the door before she could get out and went to the driver's side.

She crossed her arms and stared flatly at the windshield.

"Where to?" he asked as he started the car. After she stayed silent for more than a minute, he said "Ya know, I can be very persuasive," He reached over to touch her thigh.

She turned her stare to his hand and said "Do and you'll have to surgically remove the steering wheel from your ass,"

He growled and pulled his hand back. "If you walk home by yourself, he might follow you,"

She took a deep breath. "I can handle him,"

"What if he goes after your friend?"

She stiffened and her eyes caught that hit of fear he saw earlier.

"You see? This is the better idea. Now, where to?"

She thought for a bit then mumbled "The Vogue,"

"What?" he asked, not quite understanding.

She sighed and said louder "The Vouge. You know, the old theater on F?"

"You live there?" He was shocked. Did this girl not have a home?

She sighed again. "Just drive,"

And he did, trying to make sense of what he just learned.

**~Alyss~**

Seth was not going to be happy. Neither was Maddy for that matter. First, I'm late, which probably scared the bunnies out of them. Second, I've brought with me Billy Darley! Nope, they weren't gonna be happy at all.

When we arrived at the theater, I got out of the car and thanked Billy. He didn't say anything but nodded. He had this weird look on his face, like he was trying to solve a difficult problem. I shrugged it off, hoping it was nothing. I didn't hear the Mustang leave until I opened the door. I sighed. This does not bode well.

The twins weren't as mad as I thought they'd be. On the contrary, they were concerned for the reason I was late. We tried to come up with plans to remedy the situation but I was so tired I had to get to bed. As I lay there, I fiddled with the pentagram I wore that day. I know the Goddess helped me, in a weird way and I thanked her for it. But apparently she had more in store for me than I realized.

_**Author's Note:**_ Huge thanks to those who've reveiwed my story and liked it X) I love you all! I would have continued the chapter but I just had to end it this way. It was too hilarious! xD Again, please reveiw this and tell me what you think. The reveiws realy motivate me into writing and I can get this dished out faster :) TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!

UPDATE: Another edited chapter :) Like before, pretty much the same except for combining two chapters and fixing a few errors here and there. There should be some bigger changes in the next few chapters. Hope you like 'em!


	3. Chapter 3: Game Change

**Chapter Five**

**~Alyss~**

_I dreamed of two girls running. It was dark and rainy. Their feet pounded against the ground as they ran, causing the water in puddles to fly up like fountains._

_"C'mon, Raven!" One of them called. She had long dark hair and a duffle bag strapped to her back. "We have to get to the bus before it leaves!"_

_"I'm coming, Mock!" The other shouted, trying to catch up. Her hair was red and not nearly as long. She had a similar duffle bag on her back. "You try running when you're a month pregnant!"_

_Mock laughed. "Wait till the other eight come!" she laughed._

_They ran and ran until they got to the bus stop. The bus wasn't there so Mock checked her watch. "We're early. It's okay,"_

_Raven leaned against Mock and muttered "Do you think he followed us?"_

_Mock shook her head. "There's no way. I put enough belladonna in his beer to keep him asleep for a good long while. By the time he wakes up, we'll be long gone,"_

_Raven nodded her head and shuffled closer to Mock, still scared. Mock put her arms around her friend, who was the same height as her and rubbed her arm soothingly. "It'll be okay. We'll get through this,"_

_The bus came and when it stopped, Mock looked at her reflection. But the eyes that looked back were mine…_

I sat up, wide awake. It was still some dark but there was still enough light to see the theater seats and the projector screen on the other side of the room. After realizing it was just a dream, tears started forming in my eyes. I grabbed my pillow and buried my face into it. I cried for a good long while until I finally felt tired and the tears stopped coming. That little reminder made me think of my bestest best friend. Maybe I'll call her today, I thought as I put the pillow back and tried to go back to sleep. Took me a while but it finally came.

**=Billy=**

_What the fuck am I doing? _That's all Billy could think as he drove to the shitty part of town where the abandoned theater was. He'd been thinking about Alyss and her stalker guy all night, trying to make heads or tails of it. Did they know eachother? How? And how the fuck could he scare her like that? Not even Billy Darley, who was hands down the scariest guy in Boston, could make her bat an eyelash. Was he the reason she was stuck living in some run-down theater in the fucked up part of Boston?

Which bring us back to the situation he was in now. For some fucked up reason, he just could not get over the fact she was homeless. It just didn't seem right to him, which was weird because he's met girls in worse situations and he didn't give two shits about it. But this girl...

_Admit it, Billy. Ya like her. Sure she treats you like shit, but that just makes you want her more. So if you play the nice guy act, maybe she won't be so bitchy anymore. And you'll finally have your way. _The though made him smile as he drove up to the Vogue with Joe. He'd made a decision this morning and there was no turning back. He was going to invite Alyss to stay with him and Joe, at least until her stalker left town. Joe wasn't happy about this arrangement but nothing he could say would change Billy's mind. So he sulked in the car the whole time.

Billy got out at went to the door with Joe following him. Out of politeness, he knocked loudly on the front door, which just so happened to be wood and made a loud boom with each pound. He heard a garbled, low "Coming!" and waited. Joe was examining the building and gave a low whistle. "Damn, this shit's old, bro. Sure she's living here?"

Billy nodded. "Saw her go in myself,"

Joe shrugged. "I dunno, man. Looks real shitty to me,"

Billy just stayed silent and waited as the door finally opened and the blonde girl that was with Alyss at the bookstore poked her head out.

"Hullo?" she yawned. "Whaddaya want?"

"Is Alyss here?" Billy asked.

"Who's asking?" Obviously she was too tired to recognize him.

He cleared his throat. "Billy Darley,"

Her eyes grew wide and she rubbed them to check if there was something wrong with them. "Uhhh…Come on in. I'll get her," She said nervously as she turned around. They followed her down the hall to the main theater. Billy noticed a bundle of blankets, plushies and books in the corner with the top of someone's head poking out from under the blankets. The hair color looked like Alyss'.

"Ali?" the blonde – wasn't her name Maddy? – called. "Ali! Wake up! We have company!" She tried shaking the girl awake but it was in vain. "ALYSSS!"

"What's with all the racket?" a guy's voice called. Billy looked up to see a guy that looked eerily like Maddy come up to the balcony railing and looked down at them. His eyes bugged out as he saw Billy.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, shocked.

"I don't know. They want Alyss. Can you help me wake her?" Maddy pleaded, looking up at what Billy guessed was her twin.

"Hell yes," he muttered as he went away from the railing. There was a shuffling sound and some thumping as he came down to ground level with an alarm clock in his hands.

"Maybe we should come back later…" Joe mumbled.

Billy shot him a death glare and was about to call him out when the guy went "No, no. Wait, watch this,"

The brothers looked back at what he was doing as he set the alarm and turned it on. He held it close to Alyss' head and waited. After a minute the loudest, most annoying alarm went off. Billy could see Alyss' arms and legs flailing under the blanket like she was drowning. He had trouble stifling a laugh. It was funny to watch.

After a few seconds, she'd righted herself and sat up, panting. Her hair tie had fallen two-thirds of the way down her hair, so a lot of it was in her face. She glared at the guy and said "I'm gonna give you five seconds to run, Seth,"

"Well, save your counting cause we've got company," the guy named Seth said.

"Oh? And who is it? Some asshat who isn't worth my time, I'll bet," She snarled as she pulled out the hair tie and tried to re-tie her hair back.

"Oh, I'm pretty damn sure I'm worth your time," Billy answered for her.

She grew rigid and turned to look at him, still holding her hair back. "What the bat bunnies from hell are you doing here?" she shrieked.

Billy looked at her confused.

"Don't mind her. She doesn't curse much except for hell, asshat and damn, so her swears are a little more colorful," Maddy told him.

Alyss rolled her eyes and finished tying back her hair.

Billy just shook his head. "I wanted to offer you a place to stay,"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "And I'd be staying…?"

"With me and Joe,"

Her eye grew wide and she yelled "Hell freaking no! Nuh-uh! Not happening! No way in freaking hell!" She stood up straight and went for the duffel bag at the foot of her make-shift bed.

"Look, Alyss-"

"No, Billy. Not happening, end of discussion," She snarled as she snagged clothes of the bag and headed down the hall, assumingly for the bathroom.

Maddy bit her lip and said "I'll talk to her," before following Alyss.

Billy sighed, this was not going well.

**~Alyss~**

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't freaking believe it! Billy Darley just asked me to live with him? Oh, hell no! I was fuming as I went to the girl's bathroom to change.

"Ali?" I heard Maddy call.

"What?" I snapped as I stepped through the door and started to strip, shedding my shirt first.

"Ali, I think you should consider his offer," She said, leaning against the door as to keep people from coming in, a habit the both of us picked up if we had "guests" and the other needed to change in here. My first week, I was too shy to change with Seth in the room even if his back was turned.

"And why the hell should I?" I growled as I tugged on my black bra and then pulling on the shirt I picked for the day, a grey one depicting a cat playing the fiddle.

"Because of Michael," she said as I traded my comfy jeans for fresh panties and my favorite dark jeans. "If he's here, you'll need to be somewhere where he's not gonna try and kill you. Billy's scared him once, he can do it again. He's got the rep for it,"

"Look, Mads, Michael's not scared of Billy. I doubt he knows his rep,"

"Then why did he walk away?"

I bit my lip and muttered "Cause he probably thinks I'm his girlfriend,"

"Why the hell would he think that?"

I gave her a look and chewed on my lip. Her eyes grew wide. "No, you didn't,"

I nodded.

"You pretended? Did you kiss him?" She looked a little too excited for that.

"Ew! No! I just put my arm around his waist and acted like I was his girl,"

"Well, there's more of a reason,"

"How so?"

"If Michael think that the two of you are together, it might stalling him from getting at you,"

"What does this have to do with me moving in with Billy?"

Maddy sighed. "Think, Alyss! If you move in Billy, it'll only prove that you're together,"

"Not all girls move in with their guys," I told her.

"The girlfriend of Billy Darley who's in trouble would,"

I groaned. I hate it when she's right. I looked at the mirror and put my hand over the pendant I kept on from last night, hiding under my shirt.

"Look, Ali," Maddy said, coming over to give me a hug. "This'll just be until Michael is gone. Who knows, he might get dragged away and you won't have to run anymore,"

I nodded, taking it in. "But will this be for the best?"

Maddy looked in the mirror, at my eyes. "You told me once that the Goddess does things for a reason. And if you have faith in her and do the right thing, than those reasons are for the good. I know you, Alyss. You've done good since the day you were born and your Goddess sees that. I know that things have been hard on you but I think those things were just to prove you deserve the best in life. I'll bet this is just one more hurdle, maybe the last one,"

I just looked at her and nodded, tears starting to form in my eyes. "I just hope I can get through it,"

"You will," She grinned. "I know it,"

We came back to see the guys standing in a stony silence. I cleared my throat and they all turned to me. "I've thought about it and…."

Billy seemed to lean in, anxious for my answer.

"…and I accept," I said.

He sighed, relieved.

"But if you try to do anything to me in my sleep, I'll murder you! Slowly and painfully,"

Maddy and Seth burst out laughing. Billy chuckled a bit and Joe looked a little confused. Apparently the guy wasn't aware that I could hurt Billy. Well, now I had that smidge of blackmail if I needed it.

I headed for my stuff and started packing everything into the duffel bag. Seth and Maddy helped me pack while Billy and Joe just watched. Billy must have known I'd land him on his tail if he tried to touch my stuff. Besides, I had enough help. We packed it all except for my black cons, which I put over my already socked feet and my wolf blanket since it wouldn't fit. I picked up the duffel bag, slung it over my shoulder and squeezed Maddy and Seth into a group hug. "I'll miss you, guys!"

"We'll come and visit," Maddy muttered.

"Yeah, course we will," Seth confirmed.

I gave them a final squeeze, snagged the blanket and folded it messily so I could tuck it under my arm.

"All set?" Billy asked me.

I nodded as he started to leave and followed behind Joe. As I was about to disappear down the hall, I looked back at the twin, two of the best people I'd ever meet. I waved to them and they waved back just before I stepped into the hall and followed the guys to the Mustang outside. I slipped into the back seat with all my stuff, which seemed to make Joe happy as he got shotgun. I watched the theater go by as we drove away. I almost started to cry. This place started to feel like home, a feeling I hadn't had in a long time. And now I had to saw goodbye.

I watched the world pass by as we drove to Billy and Joe's apartment. I was quiet the whole way, so quiet I'd see Billy or Joe checking behind them to make sure I was still there. Car rides make me think and my mind started wandering. Thankfully, it wandered to an idea of a story I'd been working on. It helped distract me and make time move faster.

When we finally made it to their apartment, I reluctantly removed myself from my little reverie and got out of the car. As I reached for my bag, Billy opened the driver's side back seat door and snatched it before I could even lay a finger on it.

"What the hell?" I asked, annoyed.

"You're too small to carry this all the way up there," He answered. "Joe, grab her blanket,"

I nabbed my blanket before Joe could even turn around. I folded it over my arm loosely and gave him a look that dared him to take it from me. He just put his hands up in surrender and followed Billy. A small smirk appeared on my face as I followed them. When we got to the apartment, Billy tossed the bag at Joe, who caught it with an "Oof," and said "Take that to your room. You're sleeping on the couch,"

"What?" we shouted in unison.

"What the fuck, man? That's my fucking room!" Joe exclaimed at Billy while I said "I can take the couch, no problem!"

"Enough!" He roared at us. "That's how it's gonna go here and that's final!"

"But-!" I started to say.

He rounded on me. "You'll need your own room so you don't bitch about privacy and shit. Besides, whatcha bitching for? You should be happy now that you're sleeping in a real bed,"

"But not yours, right?" I snarled back, getting more and more pissed. I didn't even allow him to answer. I just went straight to the hall and stopped. I realized I didn't know which room was which and I really didn't want to accidentally walk into Billy's.

"My room's right here," Joe said with an exasperated sigh. He opened the door to his room and walked in with my bag, so I followed. It was slightly messy but not too bad. He plopped my bag onto the bed and started picking up.

"Here, lemme help," I offered as I crouched down to help.

"No, no. Don't want Billy mad at me for letting you clean my mess,"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you always listen to what Billy says?"

He nodded. "Have to. He's my bro,"

"Well, why don't you do me and yourself a favor and not listen to Billy this time,"

He looked up at me as if I just sprouted wings. "You do realize who Billy is right?"

I nodded. "That doesn't mean he can boss people around. I won't let him,"

He shook his head and muttered "Crazy bitch,"

"Nah," I grinned. "Just one who doesn't take crap from nobody," I started helping Joe get the mess cleaned up. We snagged the stuffed he'd need like pillows and blankets during his exile into the living room. Billy was sitting in one of the arm chairs, watching television. His head snapped up as me and Joe came in to put Joe's stuff on the couch.

"What the fuck are you doing making her carry your shit?" He growled.

I rolled my eyes. "I offered, idiot. You should know by now that no one can make me do crap,"

"Shouldn't be doing his shit, you're-"

"Oh, can it, Billy!" I hissed at him. I put down Joe's stuff and went back into the room (I refused to think of it as mine). I sat down on the bed, bringing a hand up to run through my hair, felt the urge to listen to some Evanescence and dug into my bag for my old diskmen, headphones and my CD book full of CD's that I acquired. As I looked for the case, my fingers brushed against a material that felt similar and snagged it. It wasn't the CD book. It was one of my most prized possessions: a small album. I placed that on the bed, quickly found the case, popped in a CD, clipped my headphones onto my ears and pressed play. Since I picked the Fallen CD, "Going Under" played as I flipped through the album. I mouthed the words as I went through the pictures, all of them of me and a red haired girl. The same redhead that was in my dream. I sniffed as I thought about "Raven," the best friend I could ever have. I'd planned to get to a payphone sometime today and call her but all things considered, I won't be able to. I wonder if Billy's phone had long distance… I shook my head. I wasn't gonna be asking Billy any favors for a good long while unless I had to. Maybe I can ask Benny if I could use the phone at the bar to call her, if it can call out of state.

My eyes started to mist over and I closed the album. I didn't want Billy to catch me crying like some pathetic little girl. No, I had to be strong or he'd walk all over me, treat me like I was his slave and boss me around. Sorry, Billy boy. Ain't happening.

I turned up the volume and laid back on the bed curled up on my side. I closed my eyes and listened as the songs changed. I quietly sang along to "My Immortal" and "Haunted" and hummed to the rest, mouthing the words. As the CD repeated itself, I started to fall asleep. All the stress was taking its toll and thanks to my lack of sleep, I seriously needed a nap. So I fell asleep to Amy Lee singing her heart out.

**=Billy=**

When Joe had lead Alyss to his – now her- room, Billy called Benny called to tell him to give her the day off. Benny complied, no questions asked. Billy was about to tell her the news when she came in holding some of Joe's shit.

"What the fuck are you doing making her carry your shit?" He growled.

She rolled her eyes at him, which really pissed him off. "I offered, idiot. You should know by now that no one can make me do crap,"

"Shouldn't be doing his shit, you're-"

"Oh, can it, Billy!" She hissed at him. She really was like a tigress and a mean one. Billy watched as she stalked back to her room and growled to himself. Joe looked back to see if she'd gone into the room and leaned over to Billy to whisper. "What the fuck are you doing, bro?"

"What?" Billy growled, not in the mood to deal with this.

"That girl! Why the hell is she staying here?"

"Because I say so!"

Joe threw up his hands in defeat and flopped into the chair. Billy heard him grumble somethings under his breath but he wasn't in the mood to start anything with his brother. Nah, he was too preoccupied with the mess he'd just landed himself in. What the fuck _was_ he doing?

**~Alyss~**

_I dreamed of two birds, a mockingbird and a raven. The mockingbird was badly cut up after a fight with a vicious Jay. The raven cared for the mockingbird and nursed her back to help. When the mockingbird could fly again, the two rejoiced and would fly together. Then the raven was snatched away from the mockingbird by a hawk and dragged away. The mockingbird saved the raven but she was so damaged it would take too long for her to fly and so she stayed in a nest with a dove. The hawk hated the mockingbird and tried to snatch her away to, but she always escaped his clutches. The mockingbird found herself in a strange land, filled with Jays and hawks and other fierce birds. But the mockingbird was strong now and could fight back. She met two robins who helped give her a nest to stay. An arrogant eagle found her and tried to woo her, but to no avail. The hawk found her and tried to snatch her away again but the eagle came to her rescue. The eagle offered her his wing in kindness but the mockingbird stood back, unsure. Could she trust him? _

_**Author's Note:**_ Hey all! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Just a little taste of what life is gonna be like for Alyss and Billy. Anyone notice a reoccuring theme in the dream sequences? ;) Lately, i've been obsessed with birds and just had to bring that into Alyss' story. You find they're meaning in Chapter Eight or Nine, if the story behaves with me! I swear this thing is writing itself! O.O I just get on the keyboard and start typing.

Special Thanks: To Libby! My newest friend/cheerleader here on fan-fic. You've been a terrific help throughout the proccess of this story and it wouldn't have gotten this far this quick without all your help and support. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this ^-^.

UPDATE: Hello again! Another combined chapter. My old reader's will notice I took out the scar bit. Don't worry, it'll come but I thought it was really too soon for that to happen yet and I only brought it in because original, I'd forgotten to write that she had her gloves and didn't think I could fix that. I was still new to at the time so I wasn't aware that you could change things after you published them. Now I know :)

Almost done with editing and should be updating soon!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now~


	4. Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home

**Chapter Four**

**~Alyss~**

I yawned and stretched like a cat, slowly waking from my nap. Huh? Since when did the floor feel like a bed? And when did the sweet smell of musty theater get replaced by cigarette smoke? I creaked my eyes opened and found myself sleeping on an actual bed. Then I remembered how that came to be. I groaned. Crap.

I sat up, feeling like crap after the nap, even though I needed the sleep. I stretched more, shut off my diskmen, pulled out the headphones and ran my fingers through my hair. Not that bad of a rats nest. Will do for now. Not that much interested in running into Billy again after just waking up, I started rummaging through my bag. I pulled out a mechanical pencil and a thick, five-subject notebook. After flipping through the pages until I got to a fresh one, I laid on my stomach with the notebook in front of me and started writing. I had this idea in my head and I needed to get it out. Lyrics about birds and broken wings flowed from my hand to the page. I loved singing and would love to be a famouse singer in an awesome band some day. But first, I gotta get _in_ a band.

Actually, first I gotta get out of this mess!

I'd written a couple pages when I heard my door creak and a shadow fell over my page. Didn't take a genius to figure out who.

"Yes? May I help you?" I said, slightly annoyed as I looked up to see Billy behind me. Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to me. His eyes were on the page I was writing. More annoyed and just a smidge self conscious, I slammed the book shut. He looked up at me in annoyance, which I returned with a glare.

"Well? What did you want?" I growled.

He ignored me and nodded to the notebook. "Whatcha writing?"

"None of your business," I hissed, tilting the book away from him.

"It is my business if it's in my damn house," He snarled back.

My lips tightened as I pursed my lips in annoyance. Sure, the guy had a point but I wasn't too keen on sharing my prized work with him. Instead I scooted away and sat with my back against the headboard. I opened the book and went back to writing. Maybe if I ignored him long enough. No dice though because after writing another verse I looked up to see him still standing there staring at me. Not a possessive or violating stare. More like a confused stare like I was some puzzle he was trying to figure out.

I sighed and put down the pen. "Was there a reason you came in?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," He sputtered out as if his train of thought had been derailed abruptly. "Benny called. He said you can take the day off,"

I rose my eyebrow at him. Benny didn't have a phone number for me (though that might be because I don't _have_ a phone) and there was no way in hell that he knew where I was staying now. I smell a rat. "You mean _you_ called him and told him to give me the day off, right?"

He shrugged, like it didn't matter. I sighed again and pinched the bridge of my nose with my first finger and thumb. "Look, Billy, I really do appreciate what you've done, but I still need to work. If I don't, I can't make any money to live and maybe get my own place. Understand?"

"I know," He said, nodding. "I just figured you'd want the day to get used to things. Take a break for once,"

I removed my hand from my face and stared at him. I mean _really _stared at him. What the hell is this guy thinking? "Why are you doing this?" I blurted out.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking hard about my question. Finally, he looked away from me and shrugged. "I don't know," He then shuffled out of the room without other wordd.

I stared at the doorway after he left, trying to make sense of this little muddle. This was so weird. Big and scary Billy Darley was being nice to me. How odd. And it didn't look like he just wanted to screw me either. If I'd learned anything in the past few weeks, I'd learned that Billy doesn't lie. Least he hasn't lied to me anyways. I sighed and went back to writing.

After a few hours I heard the front door open and close but no noise to indicate someone came in. I poked my head out and didn't hear any noise coming from the living room so I drew back in. I started pacing, feeling the need to move. Then my trusty stomach growled. Crap. In all the confusion of getting relocated, I hadn't snagged breakfast. Not only that, I'd slept through most of the day and missed lunch. Being a runaway and living off of what I can get, you'd think my body would be used to the lack of food.

I sighed and padded out of my room and into the kitchen. In my search for a possible dinner, I discovered all the ingredients I'd need for making spaghetti, which I suddenly started to crave. Then a thought came to mind. Might as well make enough for Billy and the boys if they show up. Besides, it's not like I could make the stuff for just myself. I'd always been taught to cook for a small army and expect leftovers. I snagged hamburger meat from the freezer and placed it in a large bowl with hot water to help it thaw out. As the meat thawed, I gathered everything I need: pasta (LOTS of it), couple large cans of spaghetti sauce, an assortment of spices, a pan and two large pots. Also, I nabbed my diskmen from my room and the CD book. After popping in a mixed Disturbed CD and turning up the volume so loud I didn't have to wear the headphones so it could just sit on the counter, I checked the meat the find it was enough thawed enough for me to season in up before I started browning. I seasoned the meat slightly, working my hands through it so it was thoroughly seasoned then plopped it into the pan the brown it. After the meat was thoroughly cooked, I placed the meat in one of the pots and added the sauce to it.

While singing to Disturb's "Ten Thousand Fists" and working on the deliciously seasoned sauce, I heard the door open. I shut my mouth silently worked.

"Whoa! What's that smell?" I heard one of the guys say. The dark skinned guy poked kitchen and when he saw me cooking his eyes bugged out. "Hey, Billy, dude! That girl's cooking in here!"

"Oh, good grief," I muttered as I went back to cooking. I heard heavy footsteps come into the kitchen, along with a bunch of slightly less heavy footsteps.

"What fuck are you doing?" I heard Billy ask as he came up to assess the situation.

"Cooking. Why? Does it look like I killed someone and is lamely trying to hide the body? Sorry, someone punk came it and pissed me off so I punished him Sweeny Todd style," The guys laughed behind me, which made me feel oddly proud of myself.

"But why the fuck are you cooking? And what's with all this food?"

I shrugged as I turned the sauce on low so it could simmer and started on the pasta. "I was hungry and I don't know how to cook for anything less than a small army. Hope you guys like spaghetti,"

Billy just shook his head.

"Wow, better keep her, Billy," said a little guy with no hair and tribal tattoos branching out from him eye. "From smell of things, girl can cook. And she has taste in music,"

I slightly winced that and concentrated on how much seasoning and oil was going into the water for the pasta. I made a mental note to myself to get some red wine vinegar. The stuff adds some nice flavor to the pasta when you add a dash to the water.

The guys headed into the living room while I cooked. All except for Billy. "Liberate" started to play and I started to sing with the chorus.

"Who's this by?" he asked.

"Disturbed. Heard of them?"

"No, actually but they sound good,"

I nodded as I placed the pasta in boiling water and went hunted for the stuff for garlic bread. "Prayer" switched on and I started singing to it.

"What's this song?" Billy asked. He was leaning against the table and was listening to the music.

"Prayer," I answered while I was halfway in a cupboard in hope of finding a good baking pan.

"I like it,"

I blushed. It was one of my favorite songs. I continued to sing along with the song, trying my best to ignore the big hulking guy standing not too far from me. "Land of Confusion" started to play when I heard a huge, exasperated sigh then the flick of a lighter. I sighed myself then looked over at Billy, who now had a cigarette lit. Wrinkling my nose, I asked "What was that for?"

He just shook his head. "You. Tons of girls have been here and not a single fucking one of them has cooked. And here you are, not even here a day and you're cooking like it's no big deal. And you don't even like me! What the fuck is up with that?"

I rolled my eyes and snickered to myself, which earned a glare from the ganglord. "What?" He growled and again when I just giggled again. _"What?"_

I laughed out loud and just smiled, leaning against the counter. "Man, ever heard of gratitude? I'm doing it because I want to. Because if I did, and then let you do all this for me, like give me a place to stay and whatnot, I'd feel horrible about it. I was raised on you be grateful to the people who help you, even when you don't really want to,"

I started laughing again when he gave me to biggest question mark look I'd ever seen. It's like he'd never heard of the idea before. Then again, the way he acted and was probably brought up, I wouldn't be surprised.

Dinner was finally finished after a long while of waiting. I swore I could mop the floors with all the drool that dribbled out of those guys' mouth when they saw all the food. As they lined up for the food, I was introduced to each of them. I just smiled slightly. I wasn't used to these guys yet and made me nervous. Once everyone got served, all the guys dug in and boy, those guys were hungry. All my spaghetti that should have last a family a week in leftovers was all gone and I only had one plate and a few pieces of garlic bread. You could have sworn these guys were a pack of ravenous wolves. I smile and blushed a bit from all the compliments from the food. Everyone said something good about it, especially Joe but that probably had to do with the fact I was living with him. Well, scratch that, everyone said something except for Billy. He was silent as he ate which made me a tad nervous. But he'd eaten a lot more than the others so he must have liked it.

When everything got settle and all the dishes were washed (by the guys due to Billy's ordering about) I headed into my room while the guys stayed out in the living room. I was tired and I needed to hit the hay. Besides, I didn't belong out there with those guys. I was just a stray Billy decided to let into his house while her psychotic ex-boyfriend is out there to kill her. I sighed. The first day wasn't too bad. But it was only the beginning.

* * *

A week passed since I moved into Billy's. No sign of Michael but I knew better. The man had a rep for sneaking up on people, namely me. I just hope there was a way for me to notice him this time and not freeze up.

Things with Billy were okay. He wasn't around a lot thanks to his "job."I wasn't too happy with the fact he dealt drugs but I knew better than to say anything. At least the guy didn't use them, which made me feel a smidge better about living with him.

Thankfully, I was able to use the phone at the bar to call my friend and explain to her the situation. Naturally, she was worried but knew better than to try and get me to live with her. For now, let's just say where she's staying I'm not exactly welcome and leave it at that for now. Seth and Maddy would come and visit me at the bar once in a while just to make sure I was okay. I'd smile and reassure them but I knew they still worried. Hell, I would too if I were in their shoes.

Today, I had a full day to work. One of the waitress's in the morning shift had to cancel so Benny needed me for the whole day. Least he's paying me overtime for this. Unfortunately, it wasn't until later that I realized I should have said no.

I was taking the trash out into one of the back alleys when I heard it. A tiny mewling sound from one of the dumpsters. Oh crap. Please tell me it's not what I think it is. I turned around to head back inside and ignore the little sound but it sounded so pathetic and scared I just had to check it out. I shuffled to one of the dumpsters and opened it, making sure to breathe through my mouth so I wouldn't be knock out by the toxic fumes. Inside the dumpster was a teeny little kitten, so small it would prbably fit in my hands, howling next to a very dead momma cat. She was possible only an hour or two dead but I could tell she wasn't alive anymore. How? One, no sign of breathing. Two, live cats don't let ants crawl into their eyes. My heart broke as I picked up the baby kitten. There was no way I could leave it. The poor thing would die in no time without nourishment soon. I rushed into the bar and grabbed a fresh towel from the rack to wrap around the baby.

"Alyss? What are you doing?" One of the other waitress asked.

I looked up with pleading eyes. "Please tell Benny I need to make a quick run to the vet. There was a kitten in the dumpster out back,"

The girl nodded and I zoomed out the door to the local vet a few streets down. Here's a bit of history for ya, I'm a sucker for animals. I'm always rescuing strays and taking them to the vet if one is seriously injured. In my first few week before I started living with Billy, I'd brought in more orphaned kittens and puppies than the vets could count. Unfortunately, I'd never brought in one this young. It had to be at the most a couple weeks old. It's eyes seemed just barely opening.

I rushed into the vet and they took it in promptly. I went in the room with them just to make sure it was okay as the vet checked it over.

After a few minutes of checking and feeding the kitten to make sure it would still eat, the vet smiled at me.

"Another lucky one, Alyss. She seems to be alright," she told me. Then her smile changed to a frown. "But I'm afraid we can't keep her here,"

My eyes bugged out. "What?" I whimpered.

The vet shook her head. "We don't have room here for this young of a kitten. Now, you could keep it but she'll be expensive,"

I bit my lip and looked at the kitten. She was dark with a slight pattern on her face. A tabby for sure. I would love to keep her but I'd had to get through Billy. Even so, I couldn't leave the poor little thing all alone, especially after she'd lost her mother. Like me…

I straightened my shoulders, resolved. "I'll do it. I've care for kittens before. One's not too hard,"

The vet nodded and got me the formula I needed for her and a bottle. "You know to feed her every couple hours right?"

I nodded. I'd raised kittens before. I knew the drill.

"And to stimulate her afterwards right?"

I nodded again. "How much do I owe you?"

The vet smiled again. "Don't worry about it. You've been so kind to the animals here, I'll give you a break. That milk should last you till the end of the month,"

I grinned and hugged the vet before taking up my new feline friend. After a quick trip to the bar to convince Benny to let me have the rest of the day off so I could help my new kitten get settled in, I headed back to Billy's apartment. The guy was nowhere in sight so I went in and headed for my room. The kitten was asleep in the towel I brought her in, which made me smile as I placed her on the bed. I rummaged through my bag for my secret stash. After finding an old cigar box, I opened it and counted the money inside. I had a couple hundred bucks and some change inside it, all saved for a rainy day. I looked over at the sleeping kitten and sighed. Can't get any wetter than this.

**=Billy=**

Billy got back to his place after switching shifts with Heco. First thing to tip him off that there was something odd going on was the singing. He could here singing coming from one of the bedrooms. It almost sounded like Alyss but wasn't she supposed to be at work? He crept into the hall and peeked into her room.

There she was, sitting on her bed cradling a bundle in the crook of her arm and holding a tiny bottle of what looked like milk to it. She was singing a little lullaby to the bundle. Billy leaned in a little more so he could see the bundle better. The door creaked and her head snapped up at the sound.

"Oh," She said, surprised. "You're home,"

"What the fuck is that?" Billy asked as he came into the room. She tilted the bundle a little so he could see better. Inside the bundle was a tiny kitten suckling on the bottle Alyss held. "Ah, fuck nah! You are not keeping it!"

Alyss rolled her eyes at him. "Sorry, Billy boy but that's not your decision. Besides, poor thing can't go anywhere else,"

"Oh yes it can. Just put it back where you found it,"

"I found her in a dumpster," Alyss said bluntly. "With her dead mom," She was looking down at the kitten when she said that. Billy thought he heard a small catch in her voice.

He sighed. "Fine but you have to take care of it,"

"Fine by me," She answered, still looking down at the kitten

"And pay for it,"

"Already planned to," She looked like she wanted to add more but thought better of it. Billy sighed again and went into the living room, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. He took a long drag, thinking of how fucked up he was for letting that girl walk all over him. Why'd he agree to that? Then he remembered when she said she found its' dead mom. It sounded like she wasn't talking about the kitten. It sounded like she was talking about herself.

**~Alyss~**

That night, I'd set up a little bed in the corner of the room by my bed. I placed a tiny teddy bear with the kitten so it had something to snuggle with like it would its' mom and made sure the blanket I had with it was warm. Then I made a small list of items I'd need. I was fine on milk for now and I wouldn't have to worry about cat food or litter for the next few weeks. That vet had told me before I left she was only a couple weeks old, still too young to be trying any solid foods yet.

I added electric blanket to the list so I wouldn't have to worry about her getting too cold. An extra bottle wouldn't hurt either. I finished making my list and looked back at the kitten. She was all curled up next to the teddy bear, it was too cute. I smile.

"Gotta think of a name for you, baby girl. What would you like?" I cooed, knowing she couldn't answer. I thought for a bit. When I first brought her to the apartment, she'd been a feisty little thing. Always fighting the bottle until she realized there was milk inside. Then I smiled wider. "How about Athena? She's the goddess of war and a great fighter, like you are," I could have sworn I saw that little face smile up at me in her sleep. "Athena it is then! Welcome home, Athena,"

**_Author's Note:_** Thank you to all the people who've reveiwed and loved the story! I'm so happy to hear people enjoying my work! xD Hope you guys liked this chapter! Now you'll see more into Alyss's softer side. But be warned! Twists and turns are coming up soon! Please read and reveiw or you won't find out what happens next! XP

UPDATE: Hello again. I hope you all don't mind the changes. I just felt it would be better if her first day wasn't as hostile as I originally planned it. The scar thing will come in later, when I start actually updating again. Hope you liked the little heart to heart at least :)

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now~


	5. Chapter 9: The Raven

**Chapter Nine**

**~Alyss~**

Ah, shopping. No, I'm not a shopaholic but shopping does have some calming affects on me. Particularly when I'm pissed off, which I just so happen to be. One of the girls that I worked with at the bar decided to be a total bitch and leave early just before the usual rush came in. Apparently, I make her look bad with all my extra hours compared to her flakyness. Ugh. Like I needed anymore problems.

It was the beginning of the month and Athena's eyes were starting to open. Not only that, she was starting to wander about, a habit I was nervous about. Whenever I went to work, I had Maddy or Seth come by to take care of Athena. Apparently, she was very fond of them but I was her mommy. She would cry the moment she'd hear my voice come into the apartment.

That little kitten was the main reason I was shopping, besides the fact I there were some stuff I needed for myself like soap and such. I was happy that I could actually take a decent shower now but I was sick of using the guy's soap. Some things just have to be girly.

I didn't even use half of my check, which was a huge chunk that's to all the extra hours I put in at the bar. I'm started to count the days till Benny starts asking me to do salary.

After about an hour or so of much needed shopping, I opened up my brand new tracphone and called Billy.

"Hello?" He answered after a few rings.

"Hey, can you come pick me up?" I asked, pushing my cart of purchases out to the front of the department store.

"Sure. Hey, Benny called. He says some girl's been trying to call you,"

I froze. "What?"

"Yeah, he said she needs you to call her back. What's going on?"

I sighed. "Let me figure that out first, then I'll tell ya. Bye,"

I shut the phone and dialed Raven's number. Why is she calling me? She never calls unless... My fingers slipped from shaking and I dialed the wrong number. Damn. I tried again and this time got it right.

The phone rang once. "Muh-mock?" It was a girl's voice and it sounded shaky.

"Rave? You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Could you come and get us? We need a place to stay,"

"Sure, Rave. Where you at?" She gave me the directions to a hotel just outside of town. "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can,"

"Okay, please hurry, Mock,"

"I will. Is Letti with you?"

"Yeah. You want me to put it on speaker?"

"Yep," I waited a bit until I heard a beep, meaning a button got pushed. "I'm on my way, Luttie-Loo. Don't worry. Aunty Alyss will take care of you,"

"She's nodding and says I love you," Raven said, sounding far away.

"I love you too, Luttie-Loo. Stay with mommy, okay? I'll come and get you,"

"She nodded again and waves. Bye, Mock,"

"Bye, Raven. Bye, Letti," I hung up the phone and bit my lip. Billy was so not going to be happy with me.

**=Billy=**

Billy arrived at the store ten minutes after Alyss called him. She was standing by the entrance with a shopping cart that had her bags. Well, she wasn't exactly standing. She kept on bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What the fucks with you?" He asked as he got out of the car and started putting her bags into the trunks. She bit her lip and looked like she had trouble finding the right words to say. "Get a hold of that girl?" he asked. She nodded and looked more worried at that. He put two and two together. "That's what's bugging you?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, ugh, Billy. I need to ask a really big favor of you,"

"What is it?"

"Well, you see, my best friend is in town and she needs a place to stay. Could she please stay at the apartment? It'll only be until I get a place,"

"Why can't she stay with Maddy and Seth?"

Alyss bit her lip again. "She got a daughter and it's Michael's,"

* * *

Billy couldn't believe this. He couldn't fucking believe this. He was driving to this shit hole of a hotel to bring two more strays into his house and one of them was a little kid who just so happened to be related to Alyss' stalker.

"Alyss, who is Michael? Why that fuck is he following you?" Billy asked as they got onto the highway. He was fuming.

Alyss sighed. "He's my ex and apparently he isn't over the fact I got away,"

"If he's your ex then why does he have a kid with your so-called best friend?" She was staring out the window, looking like she was lost in her own head. "Answer me, dammit,"

She sighed again. "Michael is very…possessive and when he wants something, he usually get's it,"

"What do you mean 'usually get's it'?"

Her face turned hard and livid. "He wanted to sleep with me. At the time, I wasn't ready for that. I was sixteen and still felt like a damn child. So I said no and he didn't like that. He tried waiting me out, thinking I was just going through a little phase. But I guess he got tired of it. One night, I stayed home while Raven went out to get a drink. Raven looks like me in the dark and Michael was drunk so he didn't realize who it was when he saw her and…" She stopped and Billy looked over to see her eyes were wet with tears. After a minute, she cleared her throat and continued. "I noticed Raven was late and I went looking for her. I found them in an alley next to a convenience store she liked to go to. I…" her voice caught as she recounted that night. "His back was to me and it was dark but I could hear her sobbing and begging him to stop. He was _hurting_ her," Alyss sniffed and quickly wiped away a tear that fell. "I didn't think. I grabbed a lead pipe that was just lying there and bashed him in the head. I didn't care if I killed him. Sometimes I wished I did. I took Raven back to our little hide-away with some friends we were staying with. After a month, we found out she was pregnant,"

She cleared her throat again and didn't say anymore. It was okay. Billy understood.

"So you ran," He said, phrasing it like a statement.

She nodded. "Raven didn't want to lose the baby and none of us could afford an abortion anyways. But we could raise a baby all by ourselves without a roof over our heads, let alone have Michael around. So I got her to her aunt's house. I stayed there for a while, just until after the baby was born. Then I left a few months later,"

"Didn't want Michael to find out about the baby?"

"Oh, he knows. He was there when we found out she was pregnant in the first place. Swore up and down it wasn't his but we all knew better. Rave's no slut. And she and her boyfriend at the time were extra careful. No, he knows. I just don't want him to hurt Raven and Letti just to get to me,"

"I see…" The rest of the drive was in silence. Billy thought about what all she told him and felt strange. This was the most she'd open up to him in the whole time he'd known her. He looked at her and saw a tigress, just like he always did. But this tigress was furious and protective of her family. The more he looked at her, seeing the way she talked about taking care of this Raven like she was a mother with her cubs, the more he really started to like her. _What the fuck have I gotten myself into?_ He asked himself.

**~Alyss~**

The moment we arrived at the hotel parking lot, I flung open my door and hopped out. Billy started to come out after me but I shook my head.

"Stay here and keep the engine running," I told him as I went up to the front desk. After a few minutes of ringing that stupid bell they put on the counter to get the clerk's attention, I finally got Raven's room number and stormed in. I stomped up to her room and knocked on the door. There was some shuffling on the other side before the door opened and there I saw Raven.

She was about my height with long deep red and wavy hair. Her eyes were bright green and her skin was fairer than mine but not as pale as Michael. She smiled and wrapped her thin little arms round me. She was so petite and skinny I worried about crushing her.

"Thank you so much, Mock!" She sobbed. I was so happy to see her I was beginning to tear up too.

"What are friends for?" I asked, pulled back so I could look at her face. "Where's Letti?"

Raven lead me into the room where I could see a little girl with albino pale skin and white blonde hair was curled up on the bed. "She's asleep. Try not to wake her. I'll go get our stuff,"

I nodded. "Our ride's the black Mustang with red tribal work on it,"

She gave me a question mark look. "Since when do you have a car?"

"It's, uh, not mine,"

Her eyes grew big as comprehension sunk in. "Oh. That's _his_ car?"

I nodded as I crept over to the sleeping child. Too late. She opened her eyes and yawned as wide as that little mouth could yawn. Her eyes were red, the true sign of an albino.

I smiled down at her. "Hey, Luttie-Loo. Sorry for waking you up. Sleep good?"

She nodded, sat up and held her arms up. Letti speak for "pick me up."

"Too tired to walk huh?" I said as I picked her up and held her. Sure enough, once she'd gotten her arms around my neck she dozed off.

Raven and I left the room, Raven holding their bags while I carried a sleeping Letti, and headed down to the car. Billy was standing outside of the car, smoking. He chucked the cigarette the moment he saw me with Letti and got into the driver's side. I put Letti in the back with their bags and buckled her in. She opened her eyes and stared sleepily at Billy, who stared back. After a moment of silence, Letti raised her hand and waved at him before falling back asleep. I smiled at her before getting into shotgun. Billy was still staring at Letti.

"Before you say anything, Letti's an albino," I said just as he opened his mouth, knowing there'd be a swear word somewhere in there.

He grunted and started the car when Raven strapped herself in.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Dani,"

"Thought your name was 'Raven'," Billy said, confused.

"That's what I call her," I told him. "Right, Raven?"

"Right, Mock," She grinned.

Billy gave me a weird look. "Mock?"

"Short for 'Mockingbird'. It's this whole bird thing we have going on,"

"Okay then,"

Oh boy. This was going to be interesting.

_**Author's Note**_: Hi all! Wow! Things are getting real interesting here ;) Want more? Than reveiw! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was fun writing it! Please tell me what you think!

TTFN Ta Ta For Now!


	6. Chapter 10: Explainations

**Chapter Ten**

**~Alyss~**

I sighed as we drove back to Boston. "Okay, Raven. Spill,"

Raven bit her lip and looked at Billy. "Does he…?"

"Know about Michael, yes. Now, quit pussy footing around and spill,"

Raven sighed. "When, Aunt Eve died and Mon was trying to get them to let me stay so I could keep an eye on her,"

"But?"

Raven gave me a look. "Like you can't guess, Mock. Dad's still pissed at me for running away. Mom won't even talk to me. Everyone still thinks you're such a bad influence and I was an idiot for running off with you and scaring everyone. Especially after the fact we came back with me pregnant and you, well, still you,"

I fake pouted. "Awww, they still pissy for me being the freak I am? Well, screw them!" I grinned and Raven smiled back.

"Yeah, well, that's life. So, what have you been up to?"

I shrugged, staring out the windshield. "Meh, not too much. Went to New York after I saw you guys and hung out with some squatters there. Spent about a couple months there then left for Boston. Been there for about a month now,"

"I see, so whatcha been doing in Boston?"

I shrugged again. "Lived in an old theater for a while then when Michael showed up, Billy here gave me a place to stay,"

"Uh-huh…."

The drive after that was pretty quiet, minus a few comments here and there. Letti stayed asleep the whole time but I knew better. Girl was a freaking ninja!

We arrived back at the apartment in about an hour. I picked up Letti and grabbed some of the grocery bags. Billy grabbed the rest and Raven snagged her and Letti's bags. When we got into apartment, I could hear Athena scratching at my door.

"Finally!" I heard Joe shout from the living room. "Where the fuck have you been? That damn cat's been howling for the last fucking hour!"

I ignored Joe as I plopped my groceries on the kitchen table and took a sleepy Letti to my room. Athena zipped out the moment I opened the door and kept close to my feet. "Sorry, baby girl," I cooed as I put Letti on the bed. "Mommy had to go do something," I tucked Letti into the blankets I had on the bed. Athena hopped onto the bed and sniffed Letti before padding onto the pillow and falling asleep. I smiled and went back outside the room.

Raven was rummaging through the groceries while Billy was arguing with Joe about letting Raven and Letti stay. I sighed and helped Raven put everything away.

"Is it really okay for us to be here, Mock? Purple hair looks kind of pissed," Raven asked as we took the stuff into my room.

I shrugged. "I already got the okay from Billy. He's the guy you need to worry about,"

"Oh, what he like? You told me some stuff about him but there's got to be more to it,"

I sighed. "Well, I met him at the bar I work at,"

"Right. You mentioned that on the phone. Wait…" I winced when her eyes widened. "He's the guy? The one who was hassling ya for a while?"

I nodded. "Unfortunately yes, but I think he's starting to learn his lesson,"

She looked worriedly in the direction of the living room. "I dunno, Mock. It might not be so good to stay here,"

I sighed. She didn't know about Michael yet and I wasn't too keen on telling her. But here at Billy's would be the safest place for her and Letti. One, so I could keep an eye on her and two, so Michael wouldn't get a hold of them. Not good.

"Okay, I've got to tell you something and I need you to swear to me you won't freak out, okay?" Raven nodded. "Michael's in town,"

Her eyes grew wide and she sputtered for a few moments. "He-he-he-he-he's her-here?"

I nodded. "But it'll be okay! That's why I'm staying here. So Michael won't try anything. And you should stay too,"

She looked real nervous and I understood why. I'd be scared as hell to if I was in her shoes. It took a long time for her to finally nod to me. "Okay, we'll stay, but just long enough for Michael to leave us the hell alone!"

I nodded. "That's been the plan all along. I do not plan on staying with Billy Darley,"

**=Billy=**

Billy was still reeling. It took him almost half an hour to get Joe off his back about Dani. He still couldn't believe he'd said yes. But he did. He could still remember what was said before he left for the hotel…

"_She got a daughter. And it's Michael's," She told him._

_Billy's eyes grew wide. "Fuck no! Not a fucking chance! No!"_

_She put her hands together and pleaded with him. "Please, Billy! Just as long as we get Michael off our backs! I'll get my own place! I swear! Please, please, please!"_

_His nostrils flared in irritation. "No! For the final fucking time, no! Do I look like I run a homeless shelter, Alyss? NO! So fucking drop it!"_

_Tears started to form in those chocolate eyes of hers. "Please, Billy! She would never ask this unless she absolutely had to! Calling me for anything was always agreed as a last resort. Please, I am begging you! Please!"_

_He was about to argue the point more until a tear finally fell from her eye. He'd never seen her cry before. There was the one time he'd heard her but to actually see it…It tore at his heart._

_He sighed. He'd been defeated. "Alright. Where is she?"_

_Her eyes lit up and she smiled slightly. "Thank you," She said breathlessly before telling him where they needed to go._

Billy shook his head at the memory. If it had been anyone else, he'd just turn around and leave their ass, let them find their own fucking way home. But ever since he met Alyss, something had change. He didn't know why but when she cried like that…he could have sworn his heart started to break. And when he saw her come out with this little albino girl in her arms, he could see something in her he hadn't expected. The little tigress was protective of these two and he understood why. If Joe or any of his boys had been hurt like that by any girl, he would have gone after them in a heartbeat. He almost wondered why she didn't. Did she still have feelings for that bastard? It didn't seem so in the car. In fact, if looks could kill all she'd have to do was glare at him and all that would be left was ash.

Billy frowned. What was it his business why this girl didn't off her ex? Why was he even letting her walk all over him? He sighed and headed to her room see what those two were up to. The door was ajar so he just pushed it opened to see Alyss feeding Athena and Dani unpacking some of her things to make the bed. A make-shift bed was made next to the real one with Alyss' thick blanket.

"What the fu –" He started to say when Alyss shot him a glare. She put a finger to her lips and pointed to the sleepy little girl already tucked into bed.

"Rule number one," She muttered, keeping quiet. "To the best of your abilities, don't curse around Letti, even when she's asleep," Dani nodded in agreement.

Billy shook his head. "How could she fu –" Before he could finished that sentence, Alyss had thrown a pillow at him to shut him up.

"What the bunnies did I say about swearing!"

"She's asleep!"

She nodded her head towards the kid. "That girl is a freaking ninja! She'll still hear you! Letti can't talk so she makes up for it in hyper sensitive hearing,"

He did a double take. "What? What do you mean she can't talk?"

Alyss sighed and readjusted the little kitten in her lap. "It's part of being an albino. It's a genetic mutation and sometimes, it affects hearing, sight or speech. Letti's albinism doesn't let her speak," Billy grew confused and it must have showed because she sighed again. "Just wait until she wakes up. You'll see, she signs alright for a four year old but it kind of takes some getting used to for anyone other than Raven and me,"

Dani yawned. "Well, this certainly has been a fun day. I'm gonna hit the sack, Mock. You sure you don't want the bed?

Alyss nodded. "I'm sure. Besides, do you really wanna risk getting kicked by me in my sleep?"

Dani wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Nah, I'll pass. Night, Billy. Thanks for letting us stay,"

Billy nodded and left the room for his own. Shit. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?

**~Alyss~**

_I dreamed of birds again, like before. Now there was a little bluebird flown into the mix, one who couldn't talk. The mockingbird took the little thing under her wing, helping the raven in protecting her. The eagle was out of his league with the bluebird but to appease the mockingbird, he took it in stride. The hawk hadn't been seen in a long time, but the mockingbird knew better. She could almost feel his talons try to grasp at her. She was scared but she kept her fears to herself. The raven and the bluebird already had enough problems with the dove gone. The mockingbird just wanted them to be happy and safe but could she really protect them all by herself?  
_

**_Author's Note:_** Hey guys! So sorry it's taken so long to write this chapter. So many other stories were bubbly in my head that this one was starting to take the back burner. I'm working on another story for Four Brothers and I'm going to try and balance the two out as far as writing and posting goes. With school back up, it'll be a lot harder to write as much as i was but hopefully i can still get this stuff to you guys ASAP. Hope you enjoy! Sorry if this got slow at all . Please tell me what you think!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	7. AN

_**A/N:**_ Hi everyone. Yes, I know, I'm bad, I'm horrible, I should be tied to a stake and have trash thrown at me ^^; BUT! I will remedy that :D I'm gonna be working on this fic again but first thing...I'm editing it. Main story line is staying but there are some things that I read back on and am like "this really needs help". I'll be combining chapters, fixing grammatical errors and changing some bits a little. If you read my Four Brothers Fic, "Jack and Not Jill", I'll be doing the same thing for it before updating. This'll help me gt back into the groove of updating again, promise! Stay tuned :D


End file.
